– We have not investigated a case of this magnitude before in our district, says police attorney in the Sør-West police district Karen Mork. On 1 November this year, the police campaigned in full force against 36 apartments in the Stavanger area. They suspected that prostitution was taking place in several of the apartments. In ten of the apartments, the police come into contact with 17 prostitutes. There are customers who have bought sex present in some of the apartments. They also find several apartments to which prostitutes have previously been connected. – We recognize several prostitutes from recurring tenancies associated with the same two landlords. They rent for short periods several times, and not necessarily the same apartments. A man in his 50s and a man in his 60s are charged with pimping in the case. The two property investors from Stavanger have worked together in their working life, in addition to knowing each other privately. In addition, two women have been charged in the same case. – Several of the prostitutes say that the two men know what they are doing in their apartments, says police attorney Karen Mork. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Prostitutes tell about the men We rewind to the summer of 2023. The police are in contact with prostitutes who tell about the two landlords who are now charged with pimping. – Several of the prostitutes say that the two men know what they are doing in their apartments, says Mork. Karen Mork, police attorney in the Sør-Vest police district, has never before seen a similar scale of pimping in the district. Photo: Ingvild Stuedal Taranger / news The picture that emerges for the police is that the men are aware that prostitution is being carried out in the apartments they both sublet, and own and rent out themselves. – Then the investigation will start and we will get down to business in August this year. The investigation starts in a hidden phase. At first the two men are investigated as two separate cases, but eventually become the same case for the police, due to the familiarity between the men. The covert investigation the police initiate strengthens their hypotheses. – Many witnesses have been questioned, and a lot of seizures have been reviewed, including the phones of both the prostitutes and the accused men. Has been in contact with “agencies” The police are gradually surveying what Mork calls agencies. These are agencies that organize prostitution activities from abroad. – Here there are both people who create advertisements for the prostitutes online, who recruit women and who mediate customers directly to the prostitutes. Mork confirms that both of the accused men have been in contact with such agencies, but emphasizes that it is still unclear what the contact was about. In parallel with the pimping, the police are investigating what the financial return has been for the men. – It has been a way for them to make money, we see that the men have taken a higher rental price from the prostitutes compared to others to whom they rent. The men are currently in custody. Denies criminal guilt The 57-year-old accused man’s defender, Odd Rune Torstrup, says that his client denies criminal guilt. The 57-year-old man’s defender, Odd Rune Torstrup, says that his client wants to explain himself to the police. Photo: Mathias Oppedal / news – He has not been aware of the prostitution activities that have taken place in his apartments, says Torstrup. The defense attorney points out that his client has wanted to explain himself to the police, and when he is released from custody they will review the documents together. – And provide input to the police in the further investigation, says Torstrup. The 61-year-old accused man’s defender, Eirik Myhre, says that his client has also wanted to explain himself to the police. – It is challenging to be under exploration in this way, in connection with the rental business, it creates some challenges, says Myhre. He also denies criminal guilt. – As a landlord, he has tried to take his own precautions, and believes that he has had no knowledge of this. Hi! Do you have thoughts about the case you have read, or input on what I should write about? Feel free to send me an email!
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Property investors charged with pimping – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
